A New Song
by 68luvcarter
Summary: For the Dog Days of Summer Challenge


I DO NOT OWN CRIMINAL MINDS OR THE CHARACTERS.

Written for the Dog Days of Summer Challenge.

This was a hard challenge; I hope I didn't come off too childish in the story.

A New Song

He's home! My master is home. He's always so happy to see me when he returns home. My name is Atticus. My master named me after Atticus Finch from a book he had read, something about a mockingbird. Sometimes he calls me Attie.

I'm a bird too, but I'm a parakeet not a mockingbird or a finch.

My master's name is Reid. I had heard the other humans call him that, except for the one that calls him Spence. I like the other humans too but I like it better when it's just Reid and me. He reads a lot of the time when he's home and he listens to really pretty songs. Sometimes he turns off the other songs and lets me sing to him. I like it when he does that. He always smiles when I sing to him.

I was at the scary place for a long time, surrounded by other animals without a home just like I was. The puppies and kittens were cute and cuddly and when the humans came they usually were the ones to find a home. Sometimes they wanted a reptile because they were different. But I wasn't a pet that could be held and petted, I wasn't cute and cuddly and I wasn't exotic. I had gotten used to the humans that came in and passed me by, never looking my way. Sometimes it made me really sad. No one wanted to hear me sing anymore so I stopped singing.

I remember the human with all the colors, Garcia I think was what my master called her. She and Morgan, the one with the nice smile, came in to the store with Reid and they were showing him all the cute and cuddly animals. I was surprised when Reid stopped in front of my cage and leaned down to speak to me. At first I didn't move because I had become used to being ignored but he didn't walk away. The others kept pulling him away to show him different pets but he always came back to my cage. After several stops in front of me, he asked the worker about me. The worker told him that my human had died and that I couldn't fly. My owner had clipped my wings so I had to live in a cage now and I didn't sing. He had a funny look on his face when he heard my story. He brought me home that day.

The other humans seemed skeptical but Reid wanted me. I began to hope I might have someone to love me and I was happy too. He bought me a new cage and he put me in the window so I could see outside. It was nice. I hadn't got to look out in a long time. When he would come home he would always talk to me and make sure my cage was nice and clean. Reid would sit in his chair close by and read, sometimes he would read aloud so I could hear him talk. I didn't always understand his stories but I love to hear him talk. He always has a big stack of books beside his chair because my human is really smart.

The first time he had to go away and leave me I was sad but when he came home I found my song again. He smiled so big when I sang to him that I knew I would sing to him everyday. I like his smile; I like making him happy.

He can do tricks too. The pretty ones, JJ and Emily, I think are their names, are always amazed when he does the tricks. It always makes him turn pink but I think he likes it. I already know my master is special; I like that they know it too.

JJ and the serious human, Hotch, almost always bring the small humans when they come to see Reid. Jack and Henry make me a little nervous since they are rather loud but I know if I get scared Reid will carry my cage to the bedroom and let me hide. He takes good care of me.

I like the Rossi man too. He smiles at me and sometimes I think he may understand why Reid picked me instead of the other animals.

I miss Reid when he goes away but he has a nice lady that comes in to feed me and I heard Reid ask her to sit and read to me for awhile when she comes so I wouldn't be lonely. He's a good master.

My most favorite time, however, is when it's just Reid and me. I know all his secrets but I never tell anyone. He trusts me and I know that I can always trust him. Reid doesn't look at me and want me to be perfect. He tells me he likes that I'm a little bit broken, just like him.

I think that's why he chose me. We're both broken.

I'm a bird that can't fly so I will never leave him but his smile gave me back my song.

THE END


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